Green Comfort Food: Vegan Pizzas

At one time finding a decent vegan pizza was not easy. The main problem was with the vegan cheeses, which often didn’t melt or brown properly. A number of these non-dairy products were so bad that some vegans chose to eat their pizza without cheese rather than deal with an unpleasant clump of muck topping their crust.

Today, however, there are some vegan cheeses on the market that can mimic almost perfectly the stretchy, yummy gooeyness of real cheese on a pizza.

Just like traditional pizzas, diners can now find vegan pizzas at restaurants, in the frozen food aisle or they can even try their hand at making their own yummy versions.

Dining Out

While most chain pizza operations don’t typically offer vegan options, there are a few that do. Zpizza, which prides itself on using fresh, healthy ingredients, will make its pies, as well as its salads, to fit a vegan diet. The chain substitutes a vegan cheese for the mozzarella and will leave some cheeses — like the feta in the Greek pizza — off. In addition, veggie crumbles can be added as a meat substitute. While zpizza is not yet nationwide, the chain does have locations in 16 states and Washington, D.C.

Pizza Fusion is another chain that offers vegan options for its pies. Currently, it has locations in five states and two in Saudi Arabia.

In many cities, today, there are also local restaurants that offer vegan pizza options. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently announced what it considered to be the three best vegan pizzas in the nation. The winning restaurants were 3 Brothers Pizza Cafe in New York for its Seitan Bacon Ranch pie. Second place went to Peace o’Pie in Boston for its Neapolitan, and third went to VegiTerranean in Ohio for its Chrissie’s Choice. As a sign of how far vegan pizza has come, there were finalists from many other cities from across the nation, as well.

Frozen Vegan Pizzas

Vegans can now enjoy the ease of frozen pizzas that not only taste good but will also meet their dietary guidelines. Amy’s, a well-known organic frozen food company, offers a vegan pizza that is also gluten-free. This pizza is based on a crust made of rice flour and uses a tofu cheese.

Tofurky also has ventured into the pizza arena. Currently, it offers three versions of its vegan pies: cheese, pepperoni, sausage with vegetables.

Tofutti’s pan crust pizza has probably been around the longest of any vegan pie. This dairy-free pizza is also cholesterol free.

Homemade Vegan Pizzas

Of course, if a person has the time, probably the best way to enjoy a healthy vegan pizza is to make it at home with fresh vegetables and the many vegan products available on the market today.

The most important ingredient when it comes to making a homemade vegan pizza is the non-dairy cheese that is used. The wrong type of cheese won’t melt or brown properly and may ruin a pizza. The most recommended brand of vegan cheese for pizzas is Daiya. This is the brand that many restaurants and frozen brands use when making their pizzas, including Zpizza and Tofurky.

Luckily for vegans, there are now a number of delicious options available when they crave a pizza. Even better, they are all much healthier for a person than traditional pizzas.

About the Author

Renee Varney is a freelance blogger and occasionally writes for delivery.com a site she loves using their Food Delivery LA directory to look up a different Food Delivery Service each night of the week.